Basketball is a popular game. It requires the provision of two basketball goals at either end of the court. The court itself is ideally a smooth, flat surface. However, for recreational use, any suitable flat ground surface can be used. Thus, the game can be played at campsites and other locations. A difficulty arises in that conventional basketball goals are usually of a fixed or permanent construction. Also, they tend to be large and cumbersome.
For occasional recreational use, it is desirable that the basketball goals should be of relatively light weight and portable. There have been earlier proposals for basketball goals or equipment, which can be transported.
Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,234 (Lancellotti), there is disclosed a collapsible basketball goal. The backboard itself is made up of two pivoted sections, which are held in an assembled position by means of stirrup members. The backboard is mounted on a collapsible upright support, formed from a number of tubular members interfitted into one another. Tubular leg members brace the upright member. Both the upright member and the tubular leg members are connected to a portable base. The base also serves as a carrying case. The leg members are relatively short and only support the upright member below the mid point thereof. This results in a relatively lightweight structure, which is not very rigid.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,838,308 (Polite) there is disclosed a basketball game apparatus, which can be collapsed. However, this is achieved by providing a supporting framework directly under the basket itself. It is suggested that this provides a novel structure for removing balls from under the goal basket, after they have passed therethrough. The individual elements making up the supporting framework are relatively large, and even in the collapsed configuration they would occupy a large amount of space.
British patent specification Nos. 908,055 and 1,055,574, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,889 all disclose basketball goal constructions, which are similar in some ways. All these basketball goal constructions have an upright or vertical member. The actual backboard and basket are supported on one side of this member, and, on the other side of it, there is one or more cables to support the basket. Whilst this can provide a relatively simple construction, it has numerous disadvantages. It relies upon the weight of the backboard and basket to maintain the cable in tension. Thus, the construction is not particularly rigid or secure. Further, in these constructions, the upright member is generally in one piece. This makes the basketball goal unsuitable for transportation in, for example, a small vehicle.
Belgian patent No. 632,409 and German patent specification No. 2234942 disclose basketball stands, which rely upon a parallelogram linkage, to enable them to collapse. Although, in the case of the Belgian disclosure, the linkage is not a true parallelogram. However, in both cases, the constructions disclosed are relatively complex, and require numerous different members, with numerous different pivots. In the case of the Belgian disclosure, there are in effect two separate pivoted parallelogram or quadrilateral mechanisms on either side. Accordingly, this results in considerable complexity and cost.
A basketball stand manufactured by Toss Back Inc. of Dorrance, Kansas, has been marketed under the name "The AUX-Z". This appears to be a relatively sophisticated piece of apparatus, intended for a large sporting facility. As such, it does not appear suitable for domestic, recreational use. It has an inclined upright, with a column slidably received in it. The column supports the actual backboard and basket. The column can be moved vertically by means of a hydraulic system, which is described as being of aircraft quality. This can be provided with an electrically driven hydraulic pump. The upright is braced by two members extending from the back of the base. The apparatus is relatively heavy, having an empty weight in the range 700-820 pounds, and a gross weight including balast in the range 1100-1220 pounds. As such, it could not readily be carried around for use at campsites and the like.